JoeMama's Movie Reviews

San Andreas Starring Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Paul Giamatti Directed by Brad Peyton Synopsis: Ray Gaines (Dwayne Johnson) is a Los Angeles Fire Department helicopter-rescue pilot, and is going through a divorce with his wife Emma (Carla Gugino), and prepares to take his daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario) to college.  Life isn't ideal, but not necessarily bad.  Meanwhile, Caltech seismologist Lawrence Hayes (Paul Giamatti) discovers that he can predict earthquakes, and knows that an earthquake beyond comprehension is about to occur in the Los Angeles/San Francisco area, which could possibly shift the San Andreas fault and cause unprecedented devastation. Of course, he's right, and the earthquake hits.  Ray manages to rescue Emma from the rooftop of a crumbling building, and they fly to San Francisco to rescue Blake, but as the earthquakes continue, she finds herself in deeper peril and faces the possibility that she might not be rescued

The Walking Deceased Starring Tim Ogletree, Joey Oblesby, Dave Sheridan, Troy Ogletree Directed by Scott Dow Synopsis: In a lame mixture of "The Walking Dead," "Zombieland" and "Warm Bodies," a group of dim-witted, moronic survivors try to survive in a world run by zombies. Review: Quick and simple here.  Parody movies were done brilliantly in the 80s and 90s ("Airplane," "The Naked Gun"), but unfortunately there's no good parody writers nowadays, and this one is as terrible as they come. Summary: Avoid.  Nuff said. My Rating: D-

[REC]4: Apocalypse Starring Manuela Velasco, Paco Manzanedo, Hector Colome, Ishmael Fritschi Directed by Jaume Balaguero Synopsis: Television reporter Angela (Manuela Velasco) endured the terrors of the virus that was released in the apartment complex in the first two films, and she is finally rescued by a team of GEOs, led by Guzman (Paco Manzanedo).  The two are taken to a ship under quarantine to make sure they're clean of the virus, but there's a deadly secret that hides in the bottom pits of the boat, and Angela learns that her ordeal is far from over. Review: The "[REC]" series has been a mixed blessing.  All are extremely well-done, but the story changes from film to film.  In one film the virus is simply a zombie-like virus that turns people into bloodthirsty monsters.  In another film, the virus is a religious disease created by the devil himself.  In the third film, there's no continuity whatsoever with the first two, as it takes place in a

The Mirror Starring Jemma Dallender, Joshua Dickinson, Nate Fallows Directed by Ed Boase Synopsis: Roommates Jemma (Jemma Dallender), Matt (Joshua Dickinson) and Steve (Nate Fallows) decide to purchase a supposedly haunted mirror off eBay and film it to submit it to the James Randi Educational Foundation One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.  As they film, Matt begins to exhibit strange behaviors, which culminates to deadly consequences for all three roommates. Review: Horror movies are the only genre of film where you can really produce a film with a little budget and have it be somewhat decent.  Unfortunately, "The Mirror" isn't one of them. The premise is interesting - albeit almost a total ripoff of the much more superior "Oculus" - with a supposedly cursed mirror, but even the mirror itself looks like something you'd pick up at your nearest Target.  It's not old or ancient, but rather really modern and, well, a mirror. As one o

The Sacrament Starring AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Gene Jones, Kentucker Audley Directed by Ti West Synopsis: Patrick's (Kentucker Audley) sister, Caroline (Amy Seimetz) gave up living in New York and moved to an unknown country to live in a religious commune led by Father (Gene Jones), and he's worried for her safety.  Together with reporter Sam (AJ Bowen) and cameraman Jake (Joe Swanberg), they travel to the isolated commune to film what is going on.  Upon arrival, it seems like a nice, albeit different, way of living.  However, as the men spend more time there, they discover the deadly secret behind Eden Parish, and that their loving Father isn't as loving as he appears. Review: Ti West is one of today's most talented horror directors, with films such as "The Inkeepers" and "The House of the Devil," he delivers a different type of horror, one that harkens back to the 70s style where there's a slow buildup to a cataclysmic close, ins

Still Alice Starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth Directed by Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland Synopsis: Alice Howland (Julianne Moore) is a linguistics professor at Columbia University.  She celebrates her 50th birthday with her husband John (Alec Baldwin), her son Tom (Hunter Parrish) and daughter Anna (Kate Bosworth).  Her youngest doughter, Lydia (Kristen Stewart) is living on the other side of the country. During a lecture, Alice forgets a word.  Then as she's jogging around campus, she forgets where she is.  She starts seeing a neurologist, who diagnoses her with early onset familial Alzheimer's Disease.  As she struggles to maintain her memories, Alice's condition slowly deteriorates, and her family is forced to make difficult decisions, as Alice does as well. Review: Directors Richard Glatzer (in his final director role before his untimely passing from ALS) and Wash Westmoreland deliver a stunningly impactful

American Graffiti Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith Directed by George Lucas Synopsis: In small town America in 1962, a group of high school friends come together for one final night together before they go their separate ways.  Enjoying the warm California night, they cruise the streets in their classic cars, listen to some of the best music ever created, and encounter love, loss, nostalgia and fears of the future. Steve (Ron Howard) and his longtime girlfriend Laurie (Cindy Williams) face the prospects of a long-distance relationship.  Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) goes on the search of a mysterious, beautiful woman while dealing with his fears of leaving his friends behind.  John (Paul Le Mat) cruises the strip and picks up Carol (Mackenzie Phillips), a girl way too young for him, and is forced to babysit her as he races against his nemesis Bob Falfa (Harrison Ford).   Terry (Charles Martin Smith), the nerd of the group, gets a car and li

Mad Max: Fury Road Starring Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoe Kravitz Directed by George Miller Synopsis: Max (Tom Hardy) is alone on the road, having lost his family and trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where gas is in short supply, and people are suffering from different diseases.  He is captured by Immortan Joe's (Hugh Keays-Byrne) men and is used to transfer his blood to sickly Nux (Nicholas Hoult). While going on a supply trade, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) revolts, going on the run with Immortan Joe's wives, and he launches a full-scale assault.  Nux uses Max as a hood ornament as he still needs his blood, and in the chase Max manages to escape and joins Imperator, who wishes to bring the innocent wives to the Green Place, where she was born before she was taken, all the while being tailed by Immortan Joe's men. Review: Thirty years after Beyond Thunderdome, 70 year old director George Miller returns to what made him

Whiplash Starring Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Paul Reiser, Melissa Benoist Directed by Damien Chazelle Synopsis: Andrew (Miles Teller) is a 19-year-old drummer going to a prestigious music school, and aspires to be the next Buddy Rich.  He draws the attention of famed conductor Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), who invites him to be an alternate to the core drummer in his band.  Upon joining, he realizes Fletcher is extremely hard on his students, and Andrew in particular.  He throws a chair at him, slaps him and berates him in front of the other band members, but this only causes Andrew to try harder. As he keeps persisting under Fletcher's tutelage, Andrew pushes himself farther and farther into his drumming and his desire to be the best, ignoring his father (Paul Reiser) and breaking up with his girlfriend (Melissa Benoist) because he feels she has no future and he wants to be remembered and famous, even stating to his family that he'd "rather die drunk, broke at 3

The Lazarus Effect Starring Mark Duplass, Olivia Wilde, Sarah Bolger, Evan Peters Directed by David Gelb Synopsis: For years, doctors Frank (Mark Duplass) and Zoe (Olivia Wilde) have been working on a top-secret serum that could raise the recently dead.  They've recruited young talent Clay (Evan Peters) and Niko 9donald Glover) to assist them, and Eva (Sarah Bolger) has the camerawoman. One night they successfully resurrect a dog from the dead, and there's celebration all around - even though the dog has begun to act strangely.  However, their celebration is short lived as a mysterious company comes and takes all their research, and they decide to do it again.  Only this time things go horribly wrong, and Zoe accidentally dies. Frank will have none of this, so he decides (against the wishes of his fellow co-workers and the audience at large), to use the serum to bring Zoe back from the dead, which he does.  And of course it doesn't go well.  Zoe seems to hav

Avengers: Age of Ultron Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson Directed by Joss Whedon Synopsis: In wanting to create peace in the world, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) decide to build an artificial intelligent robot named Ultron (James Spader), which goes terribly array when Ultron decides the only way to bring peace to Earth is by eliminating the Avengers and everyone in the world.  Now they must work together to take him down, along with enhanced twins Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda (Elizabeth Olson), who are working with Ultron to get revenge against the Avengers. Review: When the first "Avengers" came out, people were doubtful they'd be able to bring together so many big names and big characters into one film.  Not only did it succeed, it became the third highest grossing movie of all time. Now director Joss Whedon returns again with the original cast to give another go at